Two residents of the home also were hit by gunfire during the shootout.

Rosa De La Garza, 22, was shot in the side, and her 3-month-old son, Ray, was hit in the wrist, probably by the same bullet, investigators said. De La Garza was in fair condition at Memorial Hermann Hospital on Thursday, hospital officials said, and the baby was discharged about noon.

Benjamin and Christian Gonzalez, the suspected getaway driver, are believed to be brothers, investigators said.

Officials hope to upgrade the charges to capital murder of a police officer.

Investigators still didn't know Thursday who fired the bullet that hit De La Garza and her son, but De La Garza's brother said it doesn't matter. Whoever fired it, Nick Ochoa said, hit his sister and nephew by accident.

Ochoa believes Bennett and his partners may have saved the lives of the 10 people in the house by arriving when they did.

Bennett and two other deputies were responding to reports of a weapons disturbance at De La Garza's mother's home. The call was made by De La Garza's 18-year-old sister, Crystal, who told dispatchers that armed men were hurting her mother.

Sheriff Tommy Thomas said Wednesday that it's not unusual to dispatch three deputies to such a call, and he praised the officers for intervening in the home invasion even as he mourned the loss of Bennett.

The shootout is being investigated by the homicide and internal affairs divisions of the Harris County Sheriff's Department and the civil rights division of the Harris County district attorney's office.

Investigators are awaiting autopsy and ballistics reports they hope will help them determine who shot whom. They also are trying to learn why the suspects targeted the house.

Detectives said the invaders, who demanded money, jewelry and drugs while ransacking the home, may have mistaken the house for another they believed had drugs and money.

Williams said detectives recovered two of the suspects' weapons Wednesday, one of which was a .380-caliber semiautomatic pistol.

Benjamin Gonzalez, who was found Wednesday evening hiding beneath a house two blocks from the shooting scene, was unarmed. Williams said he apparently dropped his weapon before fleeing.

Bennett was the second law officer to be shot in less than a week. Sheriff's Sgt. Tommy J. Bohannon remained in serious condition at Memorial Hermann Hospital on Thursday with gunshot wounds to his wrist and abdomen. Bohannon, 41, was shot Sunday by 19-year-old Waseem Jung after he fled a routine traffic stop and opened fire on pursuing deputies. Jung was killed by return fire.

Bennett is survived by his wife, Teresa Bennett, and their 20-month-old daughter, Alyssa.

Charles F. Milstead, president of the 100 Club, met with Teresa Bennett at her Montgomery home Thursday to discuss funeral arrangements and money raised for the family.

Milstead said Teresa Bennett was surrounded by family members, members of the Sheriff's Department "and a lot of love."

Services for Bennett will be at 10 a.m. Tuesday at Fellowship of the Woodlands, 1 Fellowship Drive in The Woodlands.